Here's how getting the flu shot can ease the burden on hospitals

Health officials and pharmacists in London are underlining the importance of flu shots as the virus begins to spread in southwestern Ontario.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit's (MLHU) Medical Officer of Health Dr. Alex Summers warns that a particularly heavy flu season has only just begun.

"We have a number of reasons to think that we will see significant flu activity this year," he said.

This follows warnings from London Health Sciences Centre's (LHSC) director of pediatric emergency who told CBC News in October that local hospitals are bracing for all-time high wait times and flu infections this season.

Based on Australia's flu season, which typically takes place before Canada's, that outlook may not be far off, although drawing comparisons from Australia's flu season does not always show an accurate picture, Summers said.

Additionally, due to public health measures over the past two years, influenza infections had been stunted significantly.

"That means our population actually hasn't been infected with the flu in a long time, which means all of us are probably susceptible to getting infected this year," said Summers.

With flu infections expected to rise this year, Summers acknowledged that it's clear there will be increased pressure on the local health care system.

Patients with other viruses and respiratory conditions are already inundating Toronto's hospitals, threatening to trigger the cancellations of surgeries, and bringing hospitals in Ontario's most populous city to around 160 per cent capacity.

This has resulted in Ontario's hospitals being asked to accept children who are 14 years of age and older into adult intensive care units.

In London, no pediatric patients have been admitted to the adult ICU, and the children's hospital was at 105 per cent capacity as of Thursday evening, hospital officials said in a statement. 

"That's really one reason why we can all play our part to take care of ourselves, protect the system and protect our neighbours through vaccination," said Summers.

One London pharmacist told CBC News she's seen a decline in people coming in for flu shots over the course of the pandemic, and hopes that with the ease of getting vaccinated against the flu, uptake will be larger this year.

"We definitely see an uptake when people come in for COVID vaccination, to get their flu vaccine done at the same time or the other way around," said Lizanne Pretorius, the pharmacist and owner of two Shoppers Drug Mart locations in London.